Amy Winehouse.RIP

May she rest in peace. And, may her family be granted peace and comfort, now and throughout the rest of their lives.

It is truly a terrible misfortune but as we have seen, the drive and creativeness of many artists is often fueled with drugs and alcohol. Many artists talk about long periods of intense expression and writing while hammering heroin and coke. The fame, fortune, and attention that we bestow on them only makes matters worse.

These interdependencies extend from artists into other human endeavors and deserve a more nuanced perspective than most are willing to consider. A recent study of Freud and the pioneering surgeon William Halsted gets to the point.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/books/review/an-anatomy-of-addiction-by-howard-markel-book-review.html?_r=1&ref=books

Best to reserve judgment to oneself.

According to police officials in London, the autopsy performed on late singer Amy Winehouse (who passed away Saturday at the age of 27) returned inconclusive results, and no cause of death has yet been established.

They are now awaiting the results of toxicology tests, the results of which should be back in two to four weeks. Since police have determined there was no foul play involved in Winehouse’s death, her body was released to her family shortly after the conclusion of the autopsy. Her parents are reportedly planning on a private family memorial for her as soon as possible, perhaps as early as tomorrow.

Fans continue to gather at the makeshift memorial set up for Winehouse across the street from the home where the Grammy-winning singer lived. Her father, Mitch Winehouse, addressed the crowd and thanked them for their outpouring of support. “Amy was about one thing and that was love,” he told the group. “Her whole life was devoted to her family and her friends and to you guys as well. I can’t tell you what this means to us. It really is making this a lot easier for us.”

I am going to pay my respects with some flowers, not drink or cigarettes, as some people have been leaving with the flowers and cards. She lived just a stones throw away from my family.